Now, however, the World Customs Organisation has included figures for trafficked cultural property, including antiquities, in its annual report for the first time and this gives us a clearer picture of what the situation really is. In summary, this is what it says:

Number of Seizures

Drugs: c.45,000

Weapons and ammunition: c.4500

Cultural property: 146

Of which antiquities (mostly coins, seals and jewels): c.70

So in terms of the number of seizures across these three areas, drugs account for 90.6% of seizures, weapons and ammunition 9.1%, cultural property 0.3%, of which antiquities account for 0.14%.

Volumes

Although there is no direct correlation between the three areas in terms of volumes seized, summary totals give some indication of comparative scale:

Drugs: c.1.5 million kilos

Weapons and ammunition: c.2.5 million pieces

Cultural property: 8483 items

Of which Antiquities: c.6600 items (including coins)

Details:

Drugs: 1 million kilos of cannabis, 180,773 kilos of cocaine, 99,000 kilos of khat, approx. 200,000 kilos of opiates, psychotropic and other substances. Total c.1.5 million kilos. Number of seizures: c.45,000.

Weapons & ammunition: number of pieces seized c.2.5 million. Number of seizures: c.4500.

Also included in the report are figures for seizures linked to environmental (i.e. animal and plant) products. Again, exact comparisons are not easy, but the number of seized items alone rises towards the 750,000 mark, while the total number of seizures reported was 2225.

ADA adviser Ivan Macquisten has written a detailed analysis on the upcoming changes in data protection regulations for the EU for The Art Newspaper. This includes the Information Commissioner’s Office advice on what steps for businesses to take now. These changes will affect all businesses operating in the market to some degree. You can read Ivan’s article at this link.